PCM

Aug. 25, 2005 From the Upper Cape Codder: How do you spell hypocrisy? NCAA From the Daily Illini: North Dakota, Utah to appeal NCAA ruling From Central Michigan Life: [url=http://www.cm-life.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/08/25/430d1151beb1b]CMU won

Glass houses.

Wisconsin already plays UND, despite it's policy.

Yes.

Done. Sorry about that. Thanks for the heads-up.

He was suspended for two games. One by the WCHA and one by Gwozdecky.

Terence Moore, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist who praised the NCAA for its new American Indian nickname and mascot policy, now says the NCAA foolishly caved in to Florida State.

Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune absolutely eviscerates the NCAA in a column headlined: NCAA Should Have Had A Powwow First

From the 8/23/05 Morning Sun (MI): CMU to appeal nickname order from NCAA

And just exactly how knowledgeable was the source of this information? Anybody can say anything.

You could be right. However, if this goes to court, I like UND's chances. The more exemptions the NCAA grants (and I think it will grant more), the stronger UND's case becomes. The NCAA can certainly say that it's going to limit its decisions on appeals to tribal support, but the NCAA can't control what happens in court. Once there, the organization will have to defend its legal rationale, which is: The NCAA will have to demonstrate why "a reasonable person" would not simply find UND's use of the Sioux name offensive, but "hostile and abusive," which is a more difficult standard to meet. At that point, UND can introduce evidence about its American Indian programs and the number of students who take advantage of them in comparison to other state-run universities in the region. But the most difficult question for the NCAA to answer in court is will be: If this isn't hostile and abusive... ...and this isn't hostile and abusive... then is why this?

A thread on this subject has already been started in the Sioux Name forum, which is where this discussion belongs. http://siouxsports.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4621 Also, posting the complete text of news stories is forbidden. I'm not a moderator, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

From the Daily Illini: Editorial: Teachable moment NCAA policy change unclear

I'm not that pessimistic. On Aug. 5, the NCAA said it didn't matter that Florida State had the permission of the Florida Seminoles to use their tribe's name. Today, the NCAA said it did matter. This demonstrates that the NCAA is willing to find exceptions an grant exemptions, something that didn't seem likely on Aug. 5. Besides that, UND has a very good story to tell. When the NCAA claims that UND's use of the Sioux nickname is "hostile and abusive," the question UND must raise is: Compared to what? When UND is compared to other state universities in the region and even the NCAA's designated "model institutions," it stands head and shoulders above all others in educating American Indians. This is the NCAA's idea of "hostile and abusive?" Kupchella has been getting a lot of media exposure because of the letter he sent to the NCAA. He's been doing a good job of making the university's case over the national air waves. Trust me. This battle is about public opinion and political pressure, and it's far from over. As expected, columnists and commentators are already lining up to bash the NCAA for its about-face on FSU. This is what Furman Bisher, a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said about it Tuesday:

I don't see the NCAA deciding to "take back" its policy because that would be admitting that it was wrong in the first place. I can, however, envision the NCAA saying that it will temporarily suspend its policy to conduct a more thorough study. And that wouldn't be a bad face-saving move because it's obvious to me that Brand and the Executive Committe rushed into this mess without thinking it through. That's possible, but it would mean that the NCAA is essentially throwing in the towel on its effort to rid college athletics of American Indian nicknames, mascots and logos. I don't think 800-pound gorillas give in that easily.

Yeah, but he retired and came back, which is cheating. You don't want to be a cheater, do you?

Shouldn't you have to leave the student section before you you're a legend of it? I mean, you can't be in the hall of fame while you're still a professional athlete. That being said, I'd certainly pony up for a Diggler/Dirty bobblehead -- after I stock up on Pledge.

True. But I find myself wondering if it will ever reach the point where the NCAA hears all the appeals that are likely to be filed. With each move it makes, the NCAA's house of cards gets a little more wobbly. I could easily see the Executive Committee conceding that it acted too hastily and issuing a temporary suspension of the policy while it spends more time studying the issue.

I haven't seen anything about what Illinois intends to do, but there was this commentary in USA Today from Lawrence C. Eppley, chair of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

I can imagine a "Legends of the REA Press Box" bobblehead series featuring Virg Foss, Pat Sweeny and Tim Hennessy. Who wouldn't want that set?

But seriously, I bounced my layman's perspective of the NCAA's legal position off someone who is a lawyer and he said my thinking was on the right track.

Unfortunately, I think it's too late for that. Any deal UND makes with a tribe at this point will be viewed with great suspicion and be derided either as the university "bullying" the tribe or buying it off.

No, but I did find a diploma in a Cracker Jacks box.

You're probably right, but that could also work to UND's advantage. I don't see how the NCAA can let FSU off the hook and keep Illinois on its list. How's it going to look when the NCAA gives a pass to the two big-name, big-money universities that also happen to be the biggest contributors to racial stereotyping? The high-minded principles that drove this policy will be exposed for the sham they are. The NCAA will then be forced to decide it if wants to continue to beat up on the smaller schools while, at the same, absorbing hits from the activists who convinced them to take this ill-advised course. I'm obviously no lawyer, but when I look at the NCAA's legal rationale for this policy, I see Swiss cheese. It's a horrible position for the NCAA to be in. Myles Brand will have his "teachable moment," but he'll be the one doing the learning, not the teaching.

As this news release demonstrates, the NCAA certainly wasted no time in caving in to the Florida State. Can Illinois be far behind? If the NCAA thought the criticism it received was harsh before, what's going to follow this decision will be even more hostile and abusive.